


The Twin's Who Lived

by Starfall28



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abused Harry, Abusive Dursley Family (Harry Potter), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Good Weasley Family (Harry Potter), Harry Has a Sibling, How Do I Tag, Multi, Vernon Dursley Being an Asshole, but they aren't the fake boy-who-lived, so plot twist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:14:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28418202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starfall28/pseuds/Starfall28
Summary: Harry Potter and his twin, Aubrey, have lived at Number 4, Privet Drive, as long as they could remember. Until two people come and whisk them away to a world of magic, and something else, something they have never known before... happiness.
Relationships: Arthur Weasley/ Molly Weasley (minor), Lucius Malfoy/ Narcissa Black Malfoy (minor), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-Posted on fanfiction.net. Not beta-read, at all, but I do try. And why are all my works so far Harry Potter? Weird. Hope you enjoy!

This is a fanfiction about if Sirius was freed when Harry and his twin were 7. Harry's twin is name Aubrey Lillian Potter. Her name is Aubrey. because Harry and Aubrey have roughly the same meaning. (This has been edited because of grammar mistakes and inconsistencies) (but not very well)

—

There was a knock at the door at Number 4, Privet Drive. It came while Mrs. Dursley was fawning over Dudley, who was watching TV, Mr. Dursley was reading the newspaper and complaining about the politicians, while the Potter twins were making breakfast.

"Get the door, girl! Bring me my coffee, boy!" Mr. Dursley preferred not to call the twins by their names, claiming them "freaks who were unworthy of names".

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," the Twins replied, and hurried to do what they were told. Harry had messy black hair that would refuse to be tamed, and bright green eyes behind glasses. Aubrey had long auburn hair, with bright hazel eyes. Both of them were tall and slim, and stayed in the cupboard under the stairs. This was the first time they were out since Harry had burned the breakfast and Aubrey had burned the coffee. If they hadn't happened on the same morning, the twin at fault would have been just whapped in the head with a frying pan, but as they both happened on the same day, and Mr. Dursley had gotten a pay cut, they were locked away without food for 4 days.

Aubrey set down the omelette she was making and opened the door. There were two men there, one with brown hair and green eyes, and the other with hollowed cheeks, dirty black hair, and grey eyes. Despite both of them looking tired, they also looked ecstatic.

"If you're selling something, we don't want it." This was the standard line she said, unless it was Aunt Marge, who wasn't really her aunt, or someone else such as Mrs. Figg. The men frowned slightly at her response, though Aubrey couldn't see why.

—

Sirius was over the moon. The Ministry has finally caved to giving him a trial, in which he had been proven innocent! He would be seeing his godchildren, Harry and Aubrey, today and was reunited with Remus Lupin, his childhood friend.

"Sirius, we should be wearing Muggle clothes," Remus worried.

"Shush, Moony. We can focus on that later. Aren't you excited?" He grabbed his shoulders, as if Sirius was trying to jolt some of his excitement into Remus. Remus pushes him off of him.

"I am, but I also have something called common sense, Padfoot." Sirius rolled his eyes, and rang the doorbell. There was distant shouting as they waited, and Remus couldn't help having some of his excitement leaking into his facial expression.

When the door opened, both men felt their breath taken away. It was Aubrey who answered the door, and she looked so much like Lily that they felt a pang go through their hearts. It wasn't enough to quell their joy, however. She could have been Lily's body double, except for the eyes. She had James's eyes.

"If you're selling something, we don't want it." Sirius was shocked. Not particularly at what Aubrey had said, but at how she said it. Her voice was flat, like she had never been happy.

"Erm, we're not selling anything." Remus has spoken up, because it was apparent that Sirius would never had been able to.

"Why are you here, then?" Aubrey cocked her head, in the exact same way Lily did when she was faced with a hard arithmancy problem.

"We're here to see you and your brother." Sirius blurted. Remus jabbed him in the ribs, it it was too late. Aubrey's face had gone slack.

"...you should come in." She stepped to the side, and allowed Remus and Sirius to enter the excessively clean house. She closed the door and led them to the kitchen. Mr. Dursley looked up, and his naturally irritated face grew more irritated.

But it was Mrs. Dursley was the one who spoke up. "You're... you're... you're part of their lot. My freaky little sisters friends." Aubrey and Harry's heads snapped up, but they kept quiet. It wouldn't do good to ask questions, they both knew that well.

Sirius drew his wand. "How dare you insult Lily." Remus cleared his throat. "What, Moony?"

"We should focus on Harry and Aubrey right now." Both twins stiffened. Usually that meant that they were going to get punished. _They seemed so nice,_ Aubrey thought sadly.

"Oh yeah." Sirius said as if remembering something. He turned to the twins, who froze in place. That worried him, but he brushed it away for later. "Happy Birthday!"

Both twins cocked their heads, as if considering something. Once again, Sirius and Remus were reminded of Lily. But what Harry said next broke their hearts, then had them consumed in flaming anger. "Birthday? But... we don't get birthdays."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting into two random strangers car? Maybe not the best idea. But hey, it's better than the Dursleys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... really don't know what to say. Thank you for all the hits and kudos, and thanks to anon for commenting! Here's the next chapter!

Thanks to everyone who has read this! It really means a lot! On to the story. Oh, and I don't own Harry Potter because if I did Sirius would be alive and Cursed Child would already be a movie. (This has been edited because of grammar and inconsistencies)

—

" _What. Did. You. Just. Say?_ " Sirius growled. Harry's eyes darted around wildly.

"Ummm... I said that, just..." Aubrey stepped in for her brother.

"We don't get birthdays." Remus's felt pure loathing bubble up within him. His normally calm forest green eyes betrayed this, and only succeed in frightening the twins more.

"And why would that be?" Both wizards were quivering in anger.

"How dare you!" Mr. Dursley, who had gone quiet throughout this exchange, found his voice again. "Come into my house and accuse us of such things?"

Remus grinned in pleasure. "We haven't accused you of anything. Were you just admitting your guilt?" The twins had never seen anyone succeed in scaring their uncle. He sputtered for a bit, then eventually said, "I don't care. Get these kids and their... _freakishness out of my house!_ "

"HOW DARE YOU!" Sirius was on his feet now, and was pointing his wand at Mr. Dursley, who had just gone pale, then red, then purple. It looked like Sirius was about to go on a rant, but luckily Remus interrupted.

"Sirius, we can deal with this later. How about we j-"

"How can you let these horrible muggles go free? How can you even suggest that?" Sirius screamed.

Remus muttered, "You're scaring the kids. We will deal with this _later_ , Sirius." Sirius glanced over at Harry and Aubrey, who visibly flinched.

"Alright." He said, then turned to Harry and Aubrey. "Get your stuff, we're leaving" he said, then walked out of the room, robe billowing in a way that would have made Snape jealous.

Remus knelt in front of the twins. "He's always had a flair for the dramatic. Are you ready to leave?" The twins exchanged glances.

"Are... you mean leave Privet Drive?" Harry asked. Remus felt his heart drop. This was what he had been afraid of, the twins asking to stay with their Aunt and Uncle.

"Well, I mean, you can stay with your Aunt and Uncle if you want, but-"

"No... no... we'll go with you." Unbeknownst to Remus, Harry and Aubrey had had a silent conversation; one of the benefits of being twins. Well, in the space of a second they has discussed the pros and cons. Pros: escape the Dursley's, cons: maybe get kidnapped. But could kidnappers really be worse than the Dursley's? And they seemed so nice.

Remus was surprised that they would so readily agreed, but decided to be glad that they had agreed. Though really, he had expected them needing some convincing. "Okay. Get your stuff and we'll go." They both nodded and Remus expected to see them run up the stairs, but they flew to a cupboard, the cupboard under the stairs, to be specific.

"Dursley," he growled, whirling around to face him and marching over to him. " _Why is their stuff in the blasted cupboard under the stairs_?"

Mr. Dursley had apparently underestimated Remus, because of the shabby state of his robes and the bags under his eyes. "Freaks like them should be grateful that they even have a room."

Remus, being a werewolf, had superior strength, and used it to punch Mr. Dursley straight in the nose. Me. Dursley fell to the ground with a large _THUMP!_

"Hey Moony what's taking so long? Look, I'm-" Sirius, who had come in to check on them since they had been in there for a fair amount of time, cut off when he saw Remus panting and Mr. Dursley in the ground, with Mrs. Dursley clutching Dudley and both backing away from the angry werewolf. "Uh... Moony? What... did you just do?"

Remus turned to see Sirius standing in the doorway, with Harry and Aubrey hovering behind him. The twins were hovering behind him, Harry clutching a small stag figurine and Aubrey clutching a doe. They looked old, and Remus could remember James handing them to the twins when they were young.

"Nothing Padfoot." And he stalked out of the room.

Harry murmured, "And the _other_ one was dramatic," and Aubrey giggled a little. Remus had to strain his werewolf hearing to hear them. Remus opened the door for Sirius, Harry and Aubrey. He then noticed that they only had the stag and doe, nothing else. He had assumed that they had a bag filled with their clothes, at least. Harry was wearing an oversized jumper and jeans, both of which had to be rolled up for him to use his hands. Aubrey's blouse was so large on her that it could be a tunic, and her skirt was torn in half lengthwise so she could walk.

He decided not to address that now. _Wow_ , Remus thought. _There was a lot of things to talk about._ The twins crawled into the backseat, and Sirius tried to climb into the drivers seat, though Remus blocked him.

"No, no. Last time you drove, you nearly killed us all."

"Hey, I was drunk!"

"And you're not now?"

"... just a shot or two."

"I'm driving." With that, Remus crawled in and locked the door. A 45 minute drive, which was filled with casual banter between Remus and Sirius; not a peep was heard from Harry and Aubrey, different from when they were infants, when all you could hear was them crying, or laughing, or if not them people talking about them.

Harry and Aubrey were uncomfortable, for multiple reasons. First, Remus and Sirius were strangers, and they had just gotten into their car. Second, their parents had died in a car crash, while their dad was drunk. Hadn't the one with dark hair said that he was drunk?

"Oh! We haven't introduced ourselves have we?" Both twins stared at Remus. "I'm Remus, and this is Sirius, and we were friend of your parents."

"You... you knew our parents?" Aubrey asked. She and Harry has another one of those silent conversations, this time debating whether they should ask about their parents. People usually don't appreciate them asking questions, but this was important. "Were our..." She trailed off and Harry grabbed her hand. She took a breath. "Were our parents drunk and did they not care about us?"

For a moment, it seemed like no on in the car breathed. Harry and Aubrey were nervous, Sirius was furious, and Remus was shocked.

"What did you just say?" Sirius growled. Harry and Aubrey exchanges panicked glances. This was _not_ going to go well.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Aubrey finally have a home (listen to To Have a Home, from A Very Potter Sequel. Amazing song and fits this chapter perfectly).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aren't these chapter names original?

Aubrey and Harry gripped each other's hands tighter and gulped. Remus had pulled into the car park of a department store. He was going to get them new clothes, but they had more pressing matters.

Remus echoes Sirius. "What did you just say?" He was angry, his eyes flashing between dark green and their wolfish gold. He swung his head to look at the twins, who were looking like they very much wished to disappear. Aubrey was hiding behind her hair. Normally, Remus would have noticed this and would attempt to rein in his anger. But now, when Aubrey had just disrespected their parents, Remus's _best_ friends, his wolfish side cancelled out this logic.

"Well. Just that... Uncle Vernon told us that our parents..." Harry's voice shook as he said this word. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had always said that they were... "were good for nothing freaks that killed themselves by crashing our car when they were drunk." Harry hadn't realized that he said this aloud, despite Aubrey giving him a horrified look.

When Harry looked up, he realized that he had said this aloud. Aubrey was frozen, anticipating the beating that was sure to come, Remus was frozen as well, but with rage. How dare those filthy muggles spread lies about Lily and James, the best people he knew. Or, used to know. His rage at Peter, who was now in Azkaban, added to his new rage at Vernon Dursley, and became in massive force that almost made him transform into a werewolf right then and there. And Sirius was trembling in rage, and shouted, his rage making him even more tactless then he already was.

"WHAT?! LILY AND JAMES WERE THE BEST PEOPLE I KNEW! HOW DARE THOSE..." he didn't trail off; rather, he started a string of profanities that Harry and Aubrey had only heard directed at them while their Uncle was drunk.

Remus had closed his eyes, trying to calm down. "Listen." He cut Sirius off mid-rant, but Sirius took no notice, he was shouting so loud. "Silencio." He smirked as Sirius glared at him. He then turned his attention back to his cubs. "Your parents were some of the best people we knew. And they weren't freaks. They were magic."

"Magic doesn't exist." Aubrey and Harry corrected in unison. Remus frowned.

"Of course magic exists. Who told you that?" Remus was almost sure he knew who it was.

"Uncle Vernon." Harry informed them. Sirius threw a glass that used to be in the cup holder, and Aubrey shrieked as it crashed right next to her head.

"Really, Sirius? Reparo." He flicked his wand and the shards of glass flew back together. The twins stared in wonder at the newly-repaired cup. "We're behind schedule. Albus wants to meet with us soon, so we'll have to go shopping later." Harry was about to ask, 'shopping for what?', but decided against it as Remus continued to speak. "Sirius, can you shrink their clothes?"

Sirius glared at Remus. "Oh yeah. Finite."

"Reducio." Both twins stared in wonder again as their clothes were altered to actually fit them. Remus pulled out of the car park and began to drive, ignoring Sirius's urging a to ignore the speed limit and _drive_ , for Merlin's sake.

With another 15 minutes, they reached a house that looked like it came straight from a story book, then multiplied to ten times it's original size. It was surrounded by pistachio and crabapple trees, as well as Queen Anne's Lace. It was early evening and the sky was cotton candy pink and blue.

Aubrey and Harry walked behind Remus and Sirius, eyeing the house warily. It would be an absolute nightmare to clean, but for now, they tried to focus on how beautiful it was. They entered a grand foyer with a large chandelier. They walked through the foyer, living room, and a drawing room before entering the kitchen. Albus Dumbledore was waiting for them.

"Hello Remus, Sirius. And you must be Harry and Aubrey." He grinned at them, and they gave soft, shy smiles back. "Lovely house you picked out, Sirius."

Sirius nodded. "Anyway, we have other matters to attend to. You will have a busy day tomorrow. Diagon Alley, a healer," he saw Harry and Aubrey's confused glances and added, "a healer is quite like a doctor, the Weasleys would like to visit, and we will need to sign the adoption papers. That, however, can all wait until tomorrow."

He threw some Floo powder into the fire, and yelled, "Headmaster's office, Hogwarts," and vanished. The twins stared at the fireplace where Dumbledore had once been.

"Here." While Dumbledore was speaking, Remus had been assembling some sandwich's in the background. They ate in silence, the twins too scared to speak, Remus too deep in thought, and Sirius couldn't think of anything to say.

When they were finished, Sirius stood up and said, "We should show you to your room so you can go to sleep."

Remus gave him a bemused look. "Since when are you the responsible one?" Sirius stuck his tongue out and marched out of the room. Remus sighed. "We actually should show you to your room. We let you share for the first night, but you can sleep in different rooms if you want to."

Aubrey nodded. She realized that they hadn't said anything, and whispered, "Thank you." Remus smiled, and led them back to the foyer, up the grand staircase, and through a long hallway with maroon carpet. They found one door opposite two others.

"This one is yours." Remus said, and pointed to the lone door, which had a doe and stag carved into it. The room was larger than the Dursley's entire house, with two large beds, wardrobes, and bathrooms. The ceiling was painted to look like the night sky. It took Harry and Aubrey's breath away.

"Do you like it?" Remus asked. The twins nodded, as they couldn't say anything.

"What are your favorite colors?" They swung around to see Sirius leaning against the doorway, an easy smile on his face.

The twins couldn't believe that they were asking their opinion. Harry decided to answer. "I like red and Aubrey likes dark blue." Sirius nodded, and waved his wand at their clothes, which changed into pajamas for the both of them. "We'll be right across the hall if you need us. I"m the door on the left, and Remus is the door in the right."

Sirius left the room, as Remus followed him. The twins sat down on the large, soft rug in the center of the room. They didn't speak, but just sat together and thought about what had just happened. In one day, their life had been turned upside down.

When they fell asleep, they both had smiles on their faces.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cue the poetic filler chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was too lazy to edit out parts of the author's note (the full thing is on FanFiction.net and was posted like 6 months ago), so... just skip it, really.

Thank you for liking and reviewing! It really makes my day (or night, really. I should be sleeping...) when I see the nice things you have to say! And, honestly, this will be a friendship story at first. I can't think of a way to introduce Tonks this early (also, I'm pretty sure she isn't even if age yet), and I want to take more time to consider both these ships before deciding. Also, this chapter will mostly be Remus and Sirius's thoughts, with a real chapter out in a couple of days, and will be pretty short. Sorry about that! This is mostly a filler chapter, but it contains some deep stuff that may be too poetic for Sirius (at least, that's what I think. He doesn't really seem like a deep thinker to me. And by the way, why do I have so many parentheses in this A/N?!). Now that we have this ridiculously long authors note out of the way, let's move on to the story!

—

Remus gently opened Harry and Aubrey's bedroom door. He smiled. With their eyes closed, and if he didn't focus on their lightning bolt scars, he could almost pretend it was James and Lily.

But, while he did miss them dearly, he did love the twins very much. Love... right when he saw them he knew that he loved them, but now was the first time he dare to think it. It had always felt wrong to love someone, because he knew that they would turn their backs on him when they found out that he was a werewolf. At school, he had had James, and Sirius, and Peter, and later on Lily, and that was all he needed. Then James and Lily were gone, Sirius was locked away, and Peter was gone as well. That full moon had been the hardest one in years.

But now he had Sirius back, and Harry and Aubrey. He looked at their sleeping bodies, then delicately raised them to their respective beds. When he reached the doorway, he turned around. Then he uttered three words, that he had never said to anyone. He said them so softly that he almost didn't hear them himself.

"I love you."

He began the long walk to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Remus had thought that Sirius was asleep. In actuality, Sirius had woken up 5 minutes before he had spoken those faithful words to the sleeping twins.

He was remembering the first words he had said to Remus, after his trial had concluded and they were alone. _I failed them._

He didn't know who he was talking about then, and certainly not now. Had it been James and Lily, whom he had killed by convincing them to switch to Peter? Or Harry and Aubrey, who had had their entire happy lives taken away from them. Or maybe even the Marauders, not to the people but the group, because he had made so many mistakes. Telling Snivellous (A/N I think that's how you spell Snivellous, correct me if I'm wrong) about the knot in the Willow had been the biggest, but it seemed like all he was capable of was mistakes.

Did he have anything left? Maybe it would be better if...

 _No._ He turned his attention to the door, and before he knew it he was standing where Remus had been, not even 10 minutes prior. _The twins. If you're not going to do it for yourself, do it for them._

He made his way down to the kitchen, where he could smell breakfast. He paused outside. He didn't know if Remus could smell him, as it was 3 weeks until the full moon, but he had to collect himself. He tried to call back his "Padfoot Persona", with energy and happiness and sarcasm, and whom didn't need the three razors stowed under his pillow.


	5. Chapter 5

This is a long chapter to make up for the previous one. It might be out a little late, but that's because of the length. It also doesn't cover their whole day, but half of it. One more thing. I'll try to avoid curses of any kind, except for things like "bloody hell". I hope you enjoy, and let's get started!

—

When Harry woke up, he found several things wrong. One: when he opened his eyes, he saw powder blue paint, and not chipping whitewash. Two: he was not under his ratty sheet, he was under a thick quilt. And three: Aubrey wasn't curled up next to him.

 _It wasn't a dream,_ he thought. _We actually left the Privet Drive._ He hopped off the bed and woke Aubrey. She seemed just as confused as he was when he awoke, then the memories of yesterday came flooding back to her just as they had for him. They smiled at each other. They hadn't smiled at each other since they made perfect grades on their tests.

They had been smiling all the way home.

The tried to shake off the memory of being locked in their cupboard for 4 days, and Harry settled for looking out the window. He gasped, and rugged Aubrey's sleeve wildly. She gave the window a quick glance, the did such a big double take it was almost comical. The sun was shining brightly, and it was 2:00 in the afternoon, at least.

They were expected to start their chores at 7:00, things like making breakfast, doing the laundry, dusting, sweeping and mopping, etc. They had a silent argument (A/N these are in italics).

 _We have to do our chores,_ Harry said.

 _What do we do, though? Everything is perfectly clean, and wouldn't they have woken us up?_ Aubrey had always been slightly more logical, whilst Harry was impulsive.

_We should at least try to do something! They've been really nice to us, and we should at least try to be grateful._

Aubrey nodded, and they trooped out of their room, only to remember that they were in a strange new house, and had no idea where the staircase was. They hesitated there for a few seconds, before turning right. They walked for what had to be an hour (it was really 5 minutes), before reaching the grand staircase that they had walked on before. From there, they were able to navigate back to the kitchen. They found Remus and Sirius cooking.

Well, Remus was cooking and slapping Sirius's hand away whenever he tried to help. He was currently saying, "Last time you helped, you blew up my stove."

"Why didn't you have a magical stove? It wasn't _my_ fault it blew up!" Sirius exclaimed indignantly.

"Do you hear yourself when you talk?" Remus asked, raising a brow at Sirius. Sirius grumbled something that the twins couldn't hear, but made Remus smack him on the head with a spatula. It didn't help that he was making an omelette, and the spatula had hot egg on it.

Sirius shook himself, much like a dog, and turned around. He brightened when he noticed the twins hovering in the door. "Hi guys! Have a good sleep?"

Harry and Aubrey flushed. "We can help with breakfast..." Harry trailed off when Remus and Sirius glances at each other with indecipherable looks.

"No, it's fine. Here." And Remus slid an omelette onto a plate.

"Wow, Remus. Housewife much?" His response was another whap on the head from a spatula.

"Be grateful. You can't cook to save your life." Sirius nodded.

"Which is why you do it for me." He sat down and waved his wand. Silverware, plates, and glasses flew out of the cabinets. Aubrey pulled Harry to the side, and a knife hurtled by where he stood only a millisecond ago.

"Please don't maim the kids, Sirius." Sirius laughed again. Harry noticed that the table was set for four. Did they have guests? He and Aubrey ate rarely, and if they did it was eaten in the cupboard. Aubrey hadn't seen this yet; she was busy watching a water jug fill itself and pour the water in the glasses. Then she noticed that there were four.

Remus sat down and ducked as a plate stacked with omelettes almost decapitated him. He saw the twins standing awkwardly in the doorway. "Aren't you going to sit down?" He saw the twins eyes widen, almost in unison, and they nervously sat down across from him and Sirius. He searched for a mundane topic, in an attempt to ease their anxiousness. "What did you usually eat for breakfast?"

That wasn't the right thing to say. The twins gave each other frantic glances. They were both remember in the same incident, from when they were four. Well, four and a half. But even at that time, they had the maturity and patience of a fifteen year old.

Their Uncle had held them by the necks against the door of the cupboard under the stairs. He was a curious shade of magenta. Earlier that day, he had received a call from the school that Harry and Aubrey made comments about not eating, and they were worried. He had explained that they had suffered head injuries, nothing to worry about, they were taking medicine and were going to be fine. And would it be okay to keep them home for maybe the next week or so to recover? The school said that it would be okay, and that they hoped they had gotten better.

But at home? That was where the whole pinning-them-to-a-wall happened. He had hissed, "Don't talk about your home life, to anyone. Understand?" They had hastily nodded, and spent the next week in their cupboard without food.

"Umm... we..." Harry stumbled for the right thing to say. There was a very clear dilemma. They didn't want to lie, but they couldn't tell the truth. Remus raised a brow and looked at them in a way that felt like he could see all their thoughts. Sirius was too busy shoveling food into his mouth to notice.

Sirius's "Padfoot Persona" was up and running. When he stopped eating, and saw Remus looking suspiciously at the twins, Harry stuttering and glancing towards the door, and Aubrey on the verge of a panic attack, his Persona dropped. Just a little. He was reminded of when James had confronted him on the Quidditch Pitch, in fourth year. James had carried the secret of Sirius's home life to the grave, and Sirius was prepared to as well.

Was. When he took in the scene, he said, in a soft tone, unlike Padfoot, "Tomorrow. We'll talk about this tomorrow. Cause guess what your father once told me?"

Remus's eye twitched at the use of "cause", but he was also wondering how this person, gentle and soft, was the same person he had gone to school with, who was impulsive and mysterious and played prank after prank after prank after prank.

"'We can have this perfect day before we have to do all of this emotional crap.'" James had told him this the day before the Quidditch Pitch Incident, as he called it, and then promptly suggested they set off dungbombs under the Slytherin table, which got them 40 lost points and a week of detention.

A ghost of a smile flickered across Harry's face as he thought about his father. He gave a shaky nod. He grabbed Aubrey's hand as she calmed down. One more day.

"You go get dressed and we'll meet you in the foyer." Remus suggested. The twins bolted from the room. They weren't scared anymore; well, as scared but they still had wanted to leave the emotionally tense room.

Remus turned to Sirius but he was already gone. Remus blinked. He would have done much, much more if he knew what was going on in the two rooms...

In the twins, Harry and Aubrey were changing. There was a set of clothes each, jeans and a T-shirt for Harry and a summer dress for Aubrey. Unlike most siblings, they were perfectly fine changing in front of each other, firstly because they had been doing it all their lives, and that they were twins and didn't want to be separated if they could help it.

"Do you think-" Aubrey cut herself off abruptly. Harry looked at her expectantly, and she forced herself to continue. "Do you think they'll leave us if they find out that we're freaks?" Harry's eyes widened; he hadn't considered this.

"Well." Harry said. He didn't say anything more. They were both thinking of the same thing (they did that a lot), when they were six and Aubrey had dropped a plate. Instead of crashing, it paused in the air, and flew back into her hand. She almost dropped it again, she was so shocked.

Dudley had seen it and shouted that they had used their, "freak powers". Unfortunately, that was right after they got out of the cupboard for mentioning that they didn't eat. Two more weeks in their cupboard. The Dursley's were relentless, there was no doubt about that. They feel into a silence.

"We can have this perfect day. Can we try, at least?" Aubrey asked. Harry nodded.

**Meanwhile, in Sirius's Bedroom...**

Sirius was sitting on his bed. His persona was gone. He was... just Sirius. Without his Padfoot energy, and jokes, and sarcasm, he was just... what was he? Broken, would be the best answer.

He pulled up his sleeve. Hundreds, nay, _thousands_ of scars littered his wrists and forearms. Some people would say he had it all. He has Remus, his best friend, freedom after all these years, and his godchildren. But each day, they were a reminder of the mistakes he made.

If only he hadn't told Snape about the knot.

_Cut._

If only he told the aurors that it was Peter.

_Cut._

If only he hadn't suggested Peter in the first place.

_Cut, cut, cut, cut._

There were three bleeding cuts on each arm, close to the elbow. He couldn't remember when he last wore short sleeves, when he didn't have scars up and down his arms. He replaced his razor underneath his pillow, and vanished the blood.

He was almost out the door when he remembered to roll down his sleeves.

He saw Aubrey and Harry standing at the bottom of the stairs, while Remus was explaining Apparating .

"My dear Moony, you need to learn from experience." Remus glanced at him suspiciously.

"What do you-" Sirius promptly grabbed Harry's arm and vanished.

Remus sighed. "Shall we?" He asked. Aubrey fidgeted, but grabbed his arm decisively and they vanished too. When they reappeared, both twins were green and Harry seemed a little more jumpy. They ended up in a small closet in Florish and Blotts, which was an Apparating room. Every store was required to have them, but there was no minimum size. Which was why there were two adults and two children (small children, but still) in what appeared to be fifteen square feet.

Once they managed themselves out of that (which involved shouting, swears (guess who), and two separate impromptu somersaults) they browsed Diagon Alley. Remus was a big planner, and already had gotten money (because bloody hell, they do not need to be throwing up in their first trip to Diagon Alley), so they could buy everything they needed. They got all the books they needed, quills, potion ingredients, parchment, and the like.

They basically got school supplies except they weren't even eleven. Remus and Sirius just figured that they would have to have lessons on the magical world, so why not get school supplies? In truth, they were inexperienced with kids.

It was finally time for wands, though. Sirius had insisted, even though they weren't even eleven yet. Both twins were bouncing with excitement, though they didn't seem to realize it. Ollivander was nowhere to be seen. Then there was a _BANG!_ They all looked up to see Ollivander standing on a sliding ladder.

"Ah, I was wondering when I would be seeing you, Mr. Potter, Ms. Potter. Not so soon, I admit. Ah, Messers Black, Lupin." He had a breathy voice that immediately made both twins uncomfortable.

He measured the twins (Aubrey was right handed, Harry was left) all the while chattering about wand materials and the wands of Remus and Sirius. Finally, he retreated to the rickety shelves of his store.

"Well? What do you think?" Remus asked.

"He's... he's... well." Aubrey said. There were no words to quite describe Gerrick Ollivander.

"9 1/2 inches, dragon heartstring, aspen." Ollivander handed Harry a wand. Harry took it, and tentatively flicked it. Aubrey's hair lit on fire, and she hastened to put it out. Ollivander was back soon, and then again, again, again, and again. It was forty wands later that he found the one. He had disappeared for fifteen minutes, searching and muttering to himself.

"11 inches," Both twins jumped; they hadn't seen Ollivander return. "Holly, Phoenix feather, nice and supple. Try this, Mr. Potter." This time when he flicked it, sparks shot from it. "Wonderful. Wonderful, it curious."

"What's-" Remus began to ask what was so curious, but Ollivander had again disappeared. "Well." Harry and Aubrey giggles slightly, and the sound warmed his heart. This was the first time hearing them laugh, he realized.

Aubrey took just as many, if not more wands to find her's. Finally, Ollivander froze. "I wonder." And again, he disappeared.

"What is it with this man and disappearing?" Harry muttered to Aubrey, who gave a small laugh. They didn't know that Remus could hear them, thanks to his werewolf senses. Sirius and Remus both smiled.

When Ollivander returned, he was carrying a wand that was light red, but not quite pink. "Beech, 10 1/4 inches, unicorn hair." Aubrey flicked it, and a silver wind swept through the shop.

"Curious. Both curious." Ollivander said.

"What's so curious?" Sirius's demanded. Ollivander barely gave him a glance. Sirius threw up his hands. Both Harry and Aubrey flinched , and edged away from Sirius a little. Sirius's expression faltered, slightly, but he pretended not to notice as he kept his eyes fixed on Ollivander.

"I have been trying to seek that wand," he gestured to Aubrey. "for many years. You are the first to be chosen."

'Chosen?' Aubrey mouthed.

"And, well, that wand has a brother." He said, now fixing on Harry. "And his brother... gave you those scars." He gestured to the twins, who both raised a hand to touch their lightning shaped scars. "15 galleons." He said, not noticing how tense the room was. Sirius paid, and they left.

"Ollivander is something else, ain't he?" Sirius asked. Both twins nodded fervently. Sirius led them to the Leaky Cauldron. Sirius ordered four butterbeers, because Remus was firmly against firewhiskey, and they sat in a corner.

Remus pulled out the adoption papers, which both Sirius and Remus had forgotten until now. "If you sign these, you'll be able to leave the Dursley's and live with us." Aubrey cocked her head.

"Doesn't Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia need to sign those, too?" She asked. Harry pointed to their signatures on the paper. Remus had gotten them last night, as well as getting slight payback (the Dursley's now has a blonde rabbit, on the upside).

The twins shakily signed, and they could feel the magnitude of what they did like boulders in their stomachs. They were free.

Remus's mouth quirked into a smile.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Aubrey finish their shopping and learn that maybe they do have a family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really know what to say...

This chapter has mentions of exactly what they (Dursleys) did to Harry and Aubrey, so if you're sensitive to that kind of stuff, please skip this chapter. But, disclaimer, no touching or anything like that. I've seen some stories with that, and I didn't feel that I could include that. And I thought that I should say this (better late than never), that I don't have an update schedule. I try to post at least once a week, but will tell you if I ever do find a schedule that works for me. And thank you for all the favorites, follows, and reviews.

—

Hogwarts was intimidating to anyone, but combined with the fact that Harry and Aubrey had no idea what Hogwarts even was, they were shy and introverted, they hadn't had decent parental figures (that he could remember), and they were going there with people they had meant days ago, that almost had panic attacks.

Sirius led the group through Hogwarts. He and the other Marauders had practically memorized Hogwarts while making the Marauders Map.

"We need to get the Map back, Remus." He said suddenly. He hadn't spoken since the twins had signed the papers.

"Right now, Sirius? Right now?" Remus asked, exasperated. Remus smiles slightly as Harry and Aubrey laughed. They didn't really laugh, though. Harry gave a tentative chuckle, not unlike the one James made in uncomfortable situations, like confronting Remus about his 'furry little problem'. And Aubrey's was like Lily's, sort of soft and fast so you doubted that it even happened. They were so much like th-

He walked right into Sirius and fell to the ground. Three heads - Sirius, Harry and Aubrey - blankly stared at him. After a couple of seconds, they all dissolved into laughter.

He snatched Sirius's hand, and pulled himself up. "Why did you stop?"

Sirius blinked. "Because... we're at the hospital wing." Harry startled. He had forgotten that they were going to the doctor, no, healer. The memory of being pinned to a wall floated to the front of his brain. He tried to think of ways to get out of this. Remus looked around and saw the small golden sign that said 'Poppy Pomfrey, Head Healer'.

"We are." Remus strode forward to get Madame Pomfrey. Aubrey peeked into the Hospital Wing. It was large, with beds on either side and a smaller building- An office? she wondered. - was situated at the back middle of the large hall. She looked up to see Harry deep in thought. She frowned, and then it flickered across her brain like lightning.

Healer. Doctor. Injuries. Punishment. Sirius noticed the look of confusion, realization, and horror flash across her face, but couldn't comment because Remus had already returned with Madame Pomfrey.

Madame Pomfrey was tall, taller than Remus and Sirius, with kind brown eyes and brown hair, streaked with grey. She had the kind of presence that made you immediately calm. It did little to soothe Harry and Aubrey's worry, though.

"Hello, all," Madame Pomfrey said. She ushered Harry to one bed, and Aubrey to the one next to it. They looked ready to jump up and run. Probably because they were.

"I'm Madame Pomfrey. We'll just be doing regular check ups, and then you can go." She grabbed a roll of parchment and a quill. "This is just for a diagnostic spell. It'll tell us what injuries you've sustained over the years."

Harry jumped up and grabbed Aubrey's arm, but it was too late. Madame Pomfrey has already waved her wand. The quill flew back and forth. Sirius was quivering in anger, Remus was in shock that someone would dare do this to his cub, Madame Pomfrey stared at the growing list, and as for the twins?

Harry was tugging Aubrey's sleeve, but she sat still. She didn't move, not an inch. She stared at the list, and realized what they would see on her's. She sat in fear, and when she got her senses back she let Harry drag her away. Not really Harry dragging Aubrey, more like the opposite.

Madame Pomfrey looked up to see the last wisps of her curly auburn hair disappear, and Harry's back as they ran. Padfoot took off, barking angrily. He herded them back into the hospital wing.

Madame Pomfrey wastes no time, and waved her wand again. Aubrey jerked her head when she saw Madame Pomfrey wave her wand again. She mentally scrolled through her options, and saw that she had none but to wait out the impending storm. She sat as calmly as she could muster.

Harry has no idea what was going through his sister's head. That happened ever so often, maybe once every two months. Harry was curious, but Aubrey could be as fortified as Fort Knox when she wanted to. A shatter.

They looked up to see a window broken, and sparks of pure magic came off of Remus. Padfoot was replaced by Sirius.

"Remus..." Sirius began. He rarely saw his friend like this. Only twice. And in neither situation had he preformed accidental magic.

"They.. that... I'll kill him!" The stuttering frightened Sirius as much, if not more. Remus has always known what to say. He cautiously placed his hand on Remus's arm, and jerked his hand away. He had been burned! Remus raised a shaking hand - out of rage or fear, it was unclear - to Aubrey's list, beneath Harry's.

More windows shattered as Sirius read. He turned to the twins. Aubrey was sitting in the floor, her legs tucked neatly beneath her. She would have been a perfect image of calm, except that her hands were shaking like a 7 on the Richter Scale.

Harry stood behind her, and had one hand on his sister's shoulder, and grabbed her hand with his free one. It was almost theatrical, except their expressions. Confusion, concern, shock, and terror like that couldn't be faked.

Madame Pomfrey, whom had been forgotten, made herself known. She had two large boxes ready. She walked over and said, softly, "Can you sit on a bed?" The twins looked at her warily, but Harry pulled Aubrey up and they sat on the bed that had been Harry's. Madame Pomfrey could see that it was futile to try and separate them, but she did say, "Aubrey, dear, I will have to treat your stomach and back. Would you like to change behind a curtain?" Aubrey nodded, thinking that she wouldn't like Harry to see what they had done to her.

Madame Pomfrey called Rosalie Chang, her assistant, to treat Harry. She was an amiable woman, who chattered a mile a minute. She mention how she had a daughter, Cho, whom was their age, that she was about to start working at the Ministry, in the Office for the Removal of Curses, Jinxes, and Hexes, and how she had a friend working in that department who also had a daughter, named Marietta Edgecombe. Harry blinked, trying to process all the woman was saying. Assistant Chang was good at her job. She had managed to distract Harry from the fact that she had pulled off his top and was healing his various bruises, cuts, and lacerations.

Madame Pomfrey had a different approach. She gently said what she was supposed to do before, and asked permission. Madame Pomfrey is much smarter than people giver her credit for, Remus noticed. Distract Harry, put Aubrey at ease. Well, he would've been thinking these if he wasn't busy plotting murder. Well, three murders. Sirius was muttering frantically. "I'll give them a reason to put me in Azkaban", "how could someone do that", and when I get my hands on them, I swear to Merlin I'll..." were some of the bits that stood out to Aubrey, who could hear through the thin curtain. What was Azkaban? she wondered.

"Oh dear." Aubrey looked down and realized that, while listening to Sirius mutter, she had gave an absent minded hum of approval, to let Madame Pomfrey remove her sundress. She was hurt less than Harry, but far, far more severely. A large bruise black as midnight, an thick cut with clotted blood, and, worst of all, were the two words, both on her back. Freak. Burden. They were from when she had been framed by Dudley. Mr. Dursley's new car, which was to be used to show off for a very important client at Grunning's, was her to clean. When she was done, she could see her reflection in it.

Dudley had looked at it, and got a wonderful idea. He slapped mud on it just as the guests had arrived, and scampered off to wash his hands. Mr. Dursley had lost the client. She had also spent the next few nights away from Harry, shoved in a linen closet in the hallway. She had very little room to stand, much less lay down.

Madame Pomfrey got to work, fixing bruises and fractures, breaks and cuts. She paused over the two words. She said quietly, "These were made when you were five?" A nod from Aubrey. "These will scar, but will hopefully be less noticeable."

"Thank you Madame Pomfrey." Aubrey whispered. She listened as Rosalie finished up Harry, and gave him something called "nutrient potions".

"All done." Aubrey hurriedly puled on her sundress and ran to her brother. She sensed a serious conversation coming on. And Sirius and Remus were indeed sitting on the bed across from Harry.

There was a silence, so heavy it could be called oppressive. Neither party wanted to break the silence. Remus sighed, looking way older than twenty-seven.

"Please tell us." Both twins stared at him. He looked back with tired green eyes. The twins scooted closer together, and had another silent conversation. Neither wanted to begin.

Aubrey finally accepted responsibility. She searched for something to say. Eventually, she settled on, "Where do I start?"

"Well, why were you cooking?" Sirius asked. The twins were floored. Because, they didn't know that their normal wasn't actually normal.

"We always cook. Since we were four." Sirius leapt up, but Remus tugged him down.

Two and a half hours of intense grilling later covering their cupboard, and chores, and punishments, and the two men were fuming. They were furious, but even their rage was overshadowed by their guilt.

Remus knew that his cubs were treated like house-elves for six years, and he hadn't tried to fight for custody. He had wallowed for six years, and hadn't done anything. The logical part of his mind pointed out that he was a werewolf, and wouldn't get custody or even visiting rights with the current laws. Do shut up, he told it.

As for Sirius, his guilt was... well, if Remus's guilt was the sun, VY Canis Majoris (biggest star we know of) was Sirius's guilt. He had been there, he had saw them, but what did he do? He gave Hagrid his bike, helped in delivering the twins into their Uncle's hands. He had chosen to go after Peter, and only laughed, he couldn't even tell the Aurors what he had done, how he had betrayed Lily and James. He itched for his razor.

Remus saw, through his haze of anger, the twins cowering slightly and nervously glancing towards the door. He closed his eyes, and tried to rein in his anger. It took a wahile, but he eventually said, "This is what we'll do." He often said this, when things got out of hand. It was an anchor. "We'll go home, and the Weasley's will visit tom..." Sirius had cleared his throat. He glanced outside. Oh... "They can visit next week."

Aubrey narrowed her eyes. There was something they aren't telling us, she thought. We're going to find out what. Before Harry could respond, Sirius continued.

"We just have to pick up your potions and we'll be good to go. Remus, will you cook?"

"I was going to cook anyway. I can't believe you forced me to live with you."

"I did not!"

"You threatened to kidnap me until I preformed an Unbreakable Vow." The twins watched this playful banter carefully. Occasionally they had a conversation like that, joking around and playing, but usually they listened to other people talk. It had always been a reminder that they didn't have family, or friends. They blinked, as Sirius's voice brought them out of their thoughts. Remus was standing by the fireplace with a cardboard box.

"Are you coming?" Sirius asked, a small smirk on his face.

Well... maybe they did have some family.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Aubrey are worried about Remus. They find out more than they bargained for, but maybe everything will turn out okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy (this was, admittedly, one of the hardest chapters to write).

Aubrey sat on her bed. Harry sat next to her. Dinner last night had been a silent affair, and they had told them that Remus was ill. Something was up, and they were determined to find out what. It was something you learned soon after you first met the Potter twins. If there was a question, they would know the answer or wouldn't rest until they found it. That particular trait usually led to a beating from Dudley and his gang.

They hadn't known Sirius or Remus for very long, and didn't have a lot of clues. They also hadn't been in the magical world for very long, and for all they knew, this could be perfectly normal. But then why hadn't they told them? Sirius poked his head in their room, and saw they both had Lily's "deep thinking" face, where their noses would scrunch up and they would squeeze their eyes shut and press their lips together. Sirius smiled.

"Harry? Aubrey?" Both twins turned to look at him. "Remus'll be gone for the next couple of days." He saw their eyes narrow.

"Why? Is he okay?" Aubrey asked. Sirius was pleased; they hadn't said much to them since they had gotten home from Hogwarts, and it was a little sweet how much they cared for Remus.

"He's fine, just is a little under the weather." Aubrey hesitated, and looked like she wanted say something, but Harry gently touched her arm. They had one of those glances, where it looked like they had compressed a year's worth of information into a second. She nodded slowly. She got an idea, and Harry decided to speak, seeing that Sirius had been pleased when Aubrey spoke.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Sirius looked panicked for a split second, but soon put on a blank face.

"He's just tired, so you probably shouldn't. Night!" And he left. Aubrey considered what he had just said. She would have asked, but asking questions was discouraged to say the least, at the Dursley's anyway. She looked outside. The full moon was rising. Screams began. Her head snapped toward the door.

"What was that?" she whispered. There were times to speak aloud, and there were times to speak silently. Now was a time to speak aloud, she felt.

"I-I don't know." Harry asked. He crept toward the door.

"Wait, we can't!" Harry turned to her. "They won't like it if we do. But, they could be hurt..." The screams turned to howls, and there were crashes. Making up her mind, she joined Harry and they slunk downstairs. They howls grew louder as they descended the stairs. Aubrey saw a door when they reached the kitchen.

She eased it open. They gagged under the horrid smell. It smelled like blood, and flesh, and urine. Harry took charge and took the lead down the stairs, Aubrey close behind. They reached what looked to be a cellar, made of concrete. A large black dog saw them, and seemed to melt out of the shadows. It barked urgently at them.

A growling caught all of their attention. A wolf jumped at them. Aubrey threw herself out of the way. Harry ducked, and darted towards the stairs. The wolf focused on Aubrey. She shrieked, searching for a way out. It leapt at her. The dog barreled into her, and she landed at the foot of the stairs. Harry grabbed her arm and tugged her up the stairs.

They stumbled through the threshold, and Aubrey slammed the door, sliding down it so she sat against the door.

"Wh-what was t-that?" Aubrey asked. She was obviously shaken; she was trembling and her eyes scanned the kitchen, as if searching for threats.

"I-I don't know," Harry said for the second time. They sat there for the rest of the night. Aubrey was to scared to move, and Harry was unwilling to leave Aubrey. They sat in silence until the first rays of sun came through the window. The door opened and Aubrey, who was still leaning against it, would have tumbled down the stairs if not for Sirius, who caught her.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, and then sighed. He motioned for them to follow him, and they saw Remus sitting on the bottom step, wrapped in bandages with his arm in a sling. The twins gasped. He turned to face them, his face having gained a new scar last night, from behind his earlobe to just below her chin. He looked very guilty, and began searching them for injuries. He didn't find any.

"Were you hurt? Last night," he added after seeing the twins confused expressions. Aubrey shook her head, not trusting her voice. Harry simply stared at Remus.

'Did it hurt you?" He pointed towards the sling. "The wolf." Harry clarified. Remus and Sirius exchanges glances.

"Sort of..." A word to the wise: Aubrey had inherited her fathers temperament but Lily's temper, overprotectiveness, and she gotten her fierce loyalty from the both of them. She never got mad but when she did it was very scary. Harry wisely backed up when he saw Aubrey's hazel eyes flashing.

 _"Sort of?_ It either did or it didn't!" Her voice was nearly a scream. She was beyond the fact that she would probably get a beating or a couple of nights in the cupboard. Remus was touched about how worried she was about him.

Sirius struggled to explain the fact that Remus was a werewolf. "Remus has lycanthropy," he blurted. The twins turned towards him.

"And, that is...?" Harry asked. He was failing to find the connection, and Aubrey wasn't thinking through the haze of overprotective rage.

"It means that... you know the wolf?" The twins nodded. "That was me." There was silence.

"No, it isn't. You're a human, see?" Harry said. Aubrey gasped as the pieces clicked. The full moon, the wolf, how it was gone by morning.

"Werewolf," she whispered. She was horrified that this man, who had lovingly taken her in, had to go through this. Remus was misinterpreting her look of horror.

"It's fine if you don't want to li-" he abruptly stopped at Aubrey's confused look. "Don't you want to leave..."

"What?" She and Harry exchanges panicked looks. "You're leaving? We would we-"

"-want you to leave?" Harry started and Aubrey finished. They rarely did that, because it was mostly pointless, due to the fact that no one was there to witness it. Sirius had a fleeting thought about the young Fred and George Weasley, and how they would maybe get along, and wouldn't that be cute? He was brought back out of his reverie by Remus asking the twins a question.

"You... really want to stay?" Both twins nodded fervently. Well, they didn't want to go back to their uncle's, and that was the same thing, right? Remus smiled. "Fantastic. Go get changed, we'll make pancakes."

The twins grinned like lightbulbs flickering on. They dashed up the stairs. They had gained a lot of confidence in the short while they had stayed with Sirius and Remus. So they didn't even think of what Uncle Vernon would do if he had caught them running in the house. Well, not more than they always did; he was always in a subtle place in their mind.

Both men left the cellar and closed it, the casting concealment charms on the door; Remus didn't like looking at the cellar. Little did they know that both men were thinking the same thing - _It's all my fault._

Only one of them longed for a knife, though.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Weasleys are in chaos (as usual), when they are invited to pay a visit to some old friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I got all the Weasley's ages right, but I tried the best I could. Hope you like it!

"Fred! Don't touch Mummy's wand!"

"Honestly! You should know that I'm George!"

"George, don't touch Mummy's-"

_BOOM!_

Percy rolled his eyes, and went back to his book. He had recently discovered Muggle books, and was hooked. He was currently reading Catch-22. He had gotten it yesterday and had barely slept, he was so hooked. He had to read late at night, because during the day the Weasley house was chaos.

As it was now. Fred and George were messing with his mother's wand, Ron was stuffing his face with leftovers, Charlie was riding his toy broomstick (inside the house!) with Ginny cheering him on, and Bill was the only calm one, trying to persuade Charlie to get off his broom. Percy was grateful for Bill, because he was the only one who could have any hope of controlling his siblings.

Bill was the eldest at 14, and was brilliant at Defense Against the Dark Arts. Charlie was next at 12, and was the best seeker Gryffindor had had in a long time, and Charlie was followed by Percy, who was 9. He was already studious, and was eagerly waiting for his 11th birthday. Fred and George were 8 and were already a handful; the Burrow hadn't been quiet place since they'd been born. Ron was 7 and loved three things: his family, the Chudley Cannons, and eating. Ginny was the youngest at 6, and she loved Quidditch. She was Charlie's favorite, giving the fact that they both loved Quidditch. She was also the baby of the family, and all the brothers were very protective of her.

Molly was trying to round up the kids to go visit the young Potter's. Arthur was telling the twins off, quite ineffectively. Bill was still trying to reason with Charlie.

"C'mon, we have to leave!"

"Just two more minutes, Bill!"

"Yeah, two minutes!" Ginny pleaded, giving him her puppy dog eyes, and Bill immediately caved. Charlie did a loop, smashing into the window. Arthur fixed it with a flick of his wand, and pushed the twins next to Molly. Molly waved her hand at Percy, who bookmarked his page. Within four minutes, all the Weasley children were ready. Well, Charlie had a nasty cut from where he had smashed into the window (again) and Percy had a small burn from where George had gotten ahold of Molly's wand (again).

Finally, they were ready. Arthur grabbed Ron, Fred, and George while Molly took Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Ginny. They vanished with a loud _CRACK!_ They reappeared near a brook. There was a path marked with stones, and they followed it down to a cottage-style mansion. The youngest, Ron and Ginny, were shocked into silence (Ron had been whining and Ginny crying) by the sheer size of it.

Remus was waiting outside, and waved when he spotted them. He calmly walked over. He embraced Molly and Arthur, and smile at the children. "These all yours, Molly, Arthur?" The two smiled affectionately.

"Yes, yes. Bill, he's our eldest, then Charlie, Percy, and the-"

"We can do it ourselves, Mum!" They interrupted.

"I'm Gred-"

"-and I'm Forge!" They stuck out their hands. Remus laughed and shook them. He was strongly reminded of when Sirius and James had claimed they were Jirius and Sames in second year, then Pradfoot and Pongs in sixth.

"It's _Fred_ and _George_. Then it's Ron, and Ginny, our youngest." Ginny smiled shyly, and gave a little wave. Remus smiled back, and turned to Arthur.

"Do they know why they're here?"

"No, not yet," Arthur told him. "Want to do the honors?" Remus chuckled.

"Well, recently we adopted Harry and Aubrey Potter, and we wanted to introduce them to you." All the Weasley's felt some vague sense of honor, at them being chosen. Remus didn't seem to notice, and led them inside. Sirius entered the entrance hall, with Harry and Aubrey following him. Sirius carried two large platters, and all of the children could smell the pancakes. "Harry, Aubrey, meet the Weasley's." Remus went through the long introduction that always followed meeting the Weasley's.

There was a sort of awkward silence. Aubrey looked at all of the Weasley's in turn. She was intimidated by Bill and Charlie, and then she saw Percy with a book. Unable to resist asking, she pointed and asked, "What are you reading?"

Percy looked startled at being addressed. "Catch-22, by Joseph Heller. Have you read it?" Aubrey shook her head.

"Is it good?" Percy nodded, and gave her a summary. Ron looked at them askance, and walked up to Harry.

"Wanna play Exploding Snap? I can teach you, it's easy I promise." Harry glanced at Sirius, who gave a brief nod, and Harry looked back at Ron.

"Sure." He said with a smile.

"Would you mind if Fred and George played too? I forgot my deck."

"No, not at all." Ron turned to Fred, who already had his cards out. Sirius handed George a platter, and took the cover off it with his newly freed hand. There were four plates of pancakes with syrup and powdered sugar.

"I so generously made-"

"-I made-" Remus interjected. Sirius continued as if he hadn't spoke.

"-some breakfast for you guys." He handed the other platter to Bill, who took it and looked confused, until he waved his hand at Aubrey and Percy, who were still talking about books. Bill grinned, and walked over.

"Not to interrupt, but do you want breakfast?" Aubrey looked at him surprised, and nodded. She turned to Ginny, who looked a little out of place. The adults were involved in a conversation about something; Ron, Harry, Fred, and George were sitting on the ground playing cards; Aubrey was talking with Percy, and Bill and Charlie passing out plates of breakfast. Aubrey made up her mind, and walked over to Ginny, who was a year younger but just as tall as Aubrey, maybe a little taller, even.

"Wanna have breakfast?" Aubrey asked softly. Ginny, who had been looking at her feet, smiled broadly and replied,

"Sure!" Aubrey led the group to the other side of the room, where they sat down. "Do you like Quidditch?" Ginny asked. Percy pulled out his book, as Charlie and Bill leaned in.

"Well, I don't know to play."

"It's awesome!" And there he went, Charlie talking rapidly explaining fouls and plays and penalties. Aubrey was interested. Charlie pulled out a whiteboard and magical markers. "I got it for my birthday, you can make them move! Red for your team and green for the other!" Aubrey watched as Charlie and Ginny showed her plays they had made, with Bill joining in occasionally. Aubrey glanced at Percy, and felt a pang of regret that he was just reading.

Bill saw this, and said to him, "You like those logic puzzles in the Prophet, right?" Percy nodded. "Well, that's kind of what this is." Percy looked at the board. He was a little rusty on the rules, but liked Quidditch decently; he still was a Weasley, after all!

Soon the group of four was drawing plays with each other, looking up when a new puff of smoke burst from the other group. The adults broke off their conversation and looked fondly at the kids. They were glad that Harry and Aubrey had begun to loosen up. The adults decided to let the kids stay a little longer than planned, until it was half-past one.

When Remus noticed the time, he and Molly went into the kitchen to make tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch. Sirius and Arthur got into a bout of friendly argument about Quidditch (Sirius loved Puddlemere United, and Arthur supported the Appleby Arrows). Fred got an idea.

"Let's prank Dad," he whispered to George. George nodded, and glanced over at the other group. Bill and Charlie loved to prank, just not as much as Fred and George. Fred went over to the other group, while George whispered to Harry and Ron their query. Harry had never done a prank and was quite excited, and Ron was excited to be included. Soon all seven Weasley's and both of the Potter's had a plan. Ron, Fred, and Charlie crept halfway upstairs, and pelted Arthur with dungbombs, and Sirius by accident, cutting him off ("Are you kidding me, Ivy Applewhite could out-fly Nick Jeronsome any day, what do you mea-"). The two men ran out of the thick brown smog, coughing, while George tossed Fred Arthur's wand, which he had stolen in the confusion. Fred lit the Filibuster Fireworks he had brought with them, and the children admired the show.

Remus ran out of the kitchen, and Harry and Aubrey tensed for a second, wondering if they could run away, but he just started laughing. He pointed at Sirius, and everyone started laughing again, at the utterly shocked look on his face.

When Molly entered the foyer to tell them that lunch was ready, she was met by a horrible smell, Ron, Fred, and Charlie clinging to the railing to keep them upright, they were laughing so hard, and everyone else laughing their heads off. Well, Percy's was more of a disapproving smile, and George was literally rolling on the ground while Ginny was crying. Molly shook her head with a fond smile.

She managed to get Arthur to calm down and lead the kids to the dining where they sat Fred, George, Harry, and Ron on one end and Bill, Charlie, Ginny, Percy, and Aubrey on another. Immediately, all the children were having conversations. It was impossible to tell who was talking to who, but they were all laughing and enjoying themselves. Even Percy, who normally didn't smile often, was grinning while having what looked like an intense debate with someone, either Aubrey, Bill, or Ron.

The four adults stood in the doorway. Arthur and Molly were glad that they had become friends so fast, while Remus and Sirius were delighted to see Harry and Aubrey come out of their shells.

Aubrey and Harry were ecstatic. It was their first time having friends, and the Weasley's were not only funny and quirky, but seemed to actually like Harry and Aubrey, which baffled them.

Bill and Charlie were happy for their siblings, who didn't have lot of friends, because they weren't at Hogwarts yet. Mostly, the Weasley's played with each other. When Bill went to Hogwarts, and later Charlie, they had finally made friends outside of their immediate family. The other Weasley's hadn't had this chance yet.

Percy was glad to have met Aubrey, who like to read, unlike everyone else at the Burrow. She liked the same kinds of books that he did, and introduced him to To Kill a Mockingbird and Anne of Green Gables, while he recommended magical books like _The Wonder of Wigtown Wanderers, He Flew Like a Madman,_ since she loved Quidditch, and _The Tales of Beedle the Bard._

Fred and George were always glad to meet someone new, and thought that Harry had the beginnings of a prankster. Harry was suggested that three people go up the stairs, after all, and he brought out some kind of joy in Ron. Though they didn't look it, Fred and George cared very much about their brothers and sister.

Ron was happy to have met someone his own age, and have someone who wasn't constantly teasing him like most of his brother's did. Even Charlie sometimes teased him, and very rarely Bill did too. It was nice to have someone who wasn't expecting big things from him like his family.

And Ginny was happy to have another girl to talk too, one who liked Quidditch. Being the only girl, Fred, George, and Ron didn't want to hang out with her that much, Percy was reading, and while Charlie and Bill were nice, she was relieved to have another friend.

Maybe tomorrow would be bad, but at least they had had fun today.


End file.
